Egypt is hosting Israeli and Palestinian representatives on Sunday in an attempt to restore calm after the recent outbreak of violence in the occupied West Bank, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
American and Jordanian officials will also participate in this meeting in the seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, in order to "
support the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians to end unilateral measures and the cycle of violence
", according to the same source.
In Aqaba in Jordan at the end of February, Israelis and Palestinians pledged to work for "
de-escalation
".
They find themselves in Sharm el-Sheikh after the death since the beginning of the year of 86 Palestinians, 13 Israelis and a Ukrainian, according to an AFP count from official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
Read alsoIsrael: Blinken says any major reform requires “consensus”
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which brings together several Palestinian factions but not Hamas, is involved in negotiations with Israel, led by one of the most right-wing governments in the country's history, formed in December by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But in the Occupied Territories, the PLO's participation has drawn criticism: rallies have taken place in the blockaded Gaza Strip while calls for demonstrations have been launched in the occupied West Bank.
For Moussa Abou Marzouq, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, the Islamist movement "
has chosen to escalate resistance against the occupation
" and "
opposes the Sharm el-Sheikh summit as well as all the summits that aim to calm the situation
.
“
The Zionist enemy is using these summits to carry out more attacks
,” added a press release from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP, left) and Islamic Jihad.
The Palestinian leaders "
must be responsible
" and "
leave the Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheikh negotiations
", a leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) told AFP.
Egypt, its diplomacy and above all its intelligence services, are regularly called upon to intervene in the Palestinian question: the first Arab country to have signed peace with Israel in 1979, and neighboring the Gaza Strip, Cairo receives just as many Israeli heads of government as well as the leaders of the various Palestinian parties.
On Thursday, four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Jenin in the West Bank where 20 Palestinians have died this year.
And on Saturday, a rocket fired from Gaza landed in Israel without causing any casualties, according to the Israeli army.